ABSTRACT

Spirit and Capital in an Age of Inequality brings together a diverse group of scholars, activists and public intellectuals to consider one of the most pressing issues of our time: increasing inequalities of income and wealth that grate against justice and erode the bonds that hold society together. The contributors think through different religious traditions to understand and address inequality. They make practical proposals in relation to concrete situations like mass incarceration and sweatshops. They also explore the inner experience of life in a society marked by inequality, tracing the contours of stress, hopelessness and a restless lack of contentment. This book honors the work of Jon P. Gunnemann, who has been a leading scholar at the intersections of religion and economics.

Spirit and Capital in an Age of Inequality will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students and scholars of religion and economics. It will be useful to policy-makers and activists seeking a more thorough understanding of the role of religion and theology in public life.

part 1|84 pages

Thinking with traditions

chapter 1|19 pages

The Little Commonwealth

The family as matrix of markets and morality in early Protestantism

chapter 2|18 pages

When Ancient Teachings Meet Modern Problems

Jewish approaches to poverty, inequality and the market

chapter 3|24 pages

Election, Selection and Distinction

Paradoxes of grace, clan and class

part 2|56 pages

Moral sentiments

chapter 5|17 pages

More Than Enough

Contentment and the dominance of the economic sphere

chapter 6|21 pages

Stress

chapter 7|16 pages

Riots and Rip-Offs in Baltimore

Towards a theology of hopelessness

part 3|68 pages

For the love of the world

chapter 8|14 pages

Wasting Human Lives

Hyper-incarceration in the United States

chapter 9|16 pages

Challenging a New Frontier of Market Morality

The case of sweatshop economics

chapter 10|17 pages

Wage Against the Machine

Wage activism, worker justice and disruptive Jesus in the age of advanced capitalism

chapter 11|19 pages

Speak Up, Judge Righteously, Stand With the Poor

The Jewish imperative for economic justice

part 4|42 pages

Public theology and the common good

chapter 12|16 pages

America, Land of the Free and Home of the Poor

Inequality as a way of life